Cleaner cattle and sheep

The Clean Livestock Policy aims to ensure a consistent approach to categorisation of animals presented for slaughter and to minimise the risk of food poisoning caused by bacteria on dirty coats and fleeces of cattle and sheep.

It was published in September 1997 by the then Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) to improve hygiene standards following the fatal E.Coli O157 outbreak in Scotland in 1996.

Excrement and mud on coats or fleeces - especially wet ones - can potentially contaminate meat inside the slaughterhouse when the coat or fleece is being removed.

Inspection

Animals should be inspected by food business operators at slaughterhouses to ensure they are clean.

Any slaughterhouses which have an unacceptable risk of contamination can not be accepted for slaughtering animals for human consumption unless they have been cleaned beforehand.